Semiconductor system

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor system shares information on a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus between first and second semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses through direct communication. The first semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes a first acquisition unit acquiring first information on the first semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a first storage unit storing the acquired first information, and a first communication unit sending the stored first information to the second semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. The second semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes a second acquisition unit acquiring second information on the second semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a second storage unit storing the acquired second information, a second communication unit receiving the first information sent from the first semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, an analysis unit analyzing a state of the second semiconductor manufacturing apparatus based on the received first information and the stored second information, an information generation unit generating information visualizing an analysis result, and a display unit displaying the generated information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority from Japanese PatentApplication No. 2016-154283 filed on Aug. 5, 2016 with the Japan PatentOffice, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entiretyby reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor system.

BACKGROUND

In a semiconductor system in which semiconductor devices aremanufactured using a plurality of semiconductor manufacturingapparatuses, the quality of semiconductor devices may vary due to, forexample, individual differences of the semiconductor manufacturingapparatuses or different installation environments of the semiconductormanufacturing apparatuses.

Therefore, in the past, in order to reduce variation in the quality ofsemiconductor devices, engineers skilled in the semiconductormanufacturing apparatuses check, for example, the state of eachsemiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and adjust the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus. There is also known a method of connecting adedicated system to a plurality of semiconductor manufacturingapparatuses and comparing and editing, for example, parameters of theplurality of semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses using a dedicatedsystem (see, e.g., Japanese Patent No. 5436797 and Japanese PatentLaid-open Publication Nos. 2003-217995 and H11-340111).

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided asemiconductor system including a first semiconductor manufacturingapparatus and a second semiconductor manufacturing apparatus that shareinformation on a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus by directlycommunicating the information therebetween. The first semiconductormanufacturing apparatus includes: a first acquisition unit configured toacquire first information on the first semiconductor manufacturingapparatus; a first storage unit configured to store the firstinformation acquired by the first acquisition unit; and a firstcommunication unit configured to send the first information stored inthe first storage unit to the second semiconductor manufacturingapparatus. The second semiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes: asecond acquisition unit configured to acquire second information on thesecond semiconductor manufacturing apparatus; a second storage unitconfigured to store the second information acquired by the secondacquisition unit; a second communication unit configured to receive thefirst information sent from the first semiconductor manufacturingapparatus; an analysis unit configured to analyze a state of the secondsemiconductor manufacturing apparatus based on the first informationreceived by the second communication unit and the second informationstored in the second storage unit; an information generation unitconfigured to generate information that visualizes an analysis result ofthe analysis unit; and a display unit configured to display informationgenerated by the information generation unit.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be inany way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments,and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and featureswill become apparent by reference to the accompanying drawings and thefollowing detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram illustrating an example of asemiconductor system according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary hardware configuration ofan apparatus controller.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary functionalconfiguration of the apparatus controller.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary processing by thesemiconductor system according to the exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary exhaust profile of asemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary exhaust profile of asemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between the exhaustprofile of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A and the exhaustprofile of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary correction value table.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. The illustrativeembodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claimsare not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, andother changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe subject matter presented here.

It is undesirable from the viewpoint of time and cost that engineersadjust respective semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses, and theadjustment results tend to vary. In the methods disclosed in JapanesePatent No. 5436797 and Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication Nos.2003-217995 and H11-340111, it is required to introduce a dedicatedsystem separately from the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses,which is undesirable from the viewpoint of cost. Therefore, there is aneed for a semiconductor system capable of performing directcommunication among a plurality of semiconductor manufacturingapparatuses without introducing a dedicated system.

An aspect of the present disclosure provides a semiconductor systemcapable of performing direct communication among a plurality ofsemiconductor manufacturing apparatuses.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided asemiconductor system according to an aspect of the present disclosureincluding a first semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and a secondsemiconductor manufacturing apparatus that share information on asemiconductor manufacturing apparatus by directly communicating theinformation therebetween. The first semiconductor manufacturingapparatus includes: a first acquisition unit configured to acquire firstinformation on the first semiconductor manufacturing apparatus; a firststorage unit configured to store the first information acquired by thefirst acquisition unit; and a first communication unit configured tosend the first information stored in the first storage unit to thesecond semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. The second semiconductormanufacturing apparatus includes: a second acquisition unit configuredto acquire second information on the second semiconductor manufacturingapparatus; a second storage unit configured to store the secondinformation acquired by the second acquisition unit; a secondcommunication unit configured to receive the first information sent fromthe first semiconductor manufacturing apparatus; an analysis unitconfigured to analyze a state of the second semiconductor manufacturingapparatus based on the first information received by the secondcommunication unit and the second information stored in the secondstorage unit; an information generation unit configured to generateinformation that visualizes an analysis result of the analysis unit; anda display unit configured to display information generated by theinformation generation unit.

In the above-described semiconductor system, the analysis unit comparesthe second information acquired by the second acquisition unit with thefirst information received by the second communication unit to determinewhether the state of the second semiconductor manufacturing apparatus isidentical to a state of the first semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.

In the above-described semiconductor system, when a difference betweenthe first information and the second information when the firstsemiconductor manufacturing apparatus and the second semiconductormanufacturing apparatus are caused to perform the same operation isincluded in a predetermined range, the analysis unit determines that thestate of the second semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is identicalto the state of the first semiconductor manufacturing apparatus. Whenthe difference between the first information and the second informationwhen the first semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and the secondsemiconductor manufacturing apparatus are caused to perform the sameoperation is not included in the predetermined range, the analysis unitdetermines that the state of the second semiconductor manufacturingapparatus is different from the state of the first semiconductormanufacturing apparatus.

In the above-described semiconductor system, when the analysis unitdetermines that the state of the second semiconductor manufacturingapparatus is different from the state of the first semiconductormanufacturing apparatus, the information generation unit generates acorrection value for matching a characteristic of a semiconductor devicemanufactured by the second semiconductor manufacturing apparatus with acharacteristic of a semiconductor device manufactured by the firstsemiconductor manufacturing apparatus.

In the above-described semiconductor system, the first information andthe second information are set values to be used when controllingoperations of respective units of the first semiconductor manufacturingapparatus and the second semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.

In the above-described semiconductor system, the first information andthe second information are state logs of respective units of the firstsemiconductor manufacturing apparatus and the second semiconductormanufacturing apparatus when a predetermined operation is executed inthe first semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and the secondsemiconductor manufacturing apparatus.

In the above-described semiconductor system, the first information andthe second information are values that vary depending on an environmentin which the first semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and the secondsemiconductor manufacturing apparatus are installed, respectively.

According to a semiconductor system disclosed herein, it is possible toprovide a semiconductor system in which direct communication is capableof being performed among a plurality of semiconductor manufacturingapparatuses.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the presentspecification and drawings, substantially the same components will bedenoted by the same symbols, and redundant descriptions will be omitted.

(Semiconductor System)

A semiconductor system according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure will be described. FIG. 1 is an overall configurationdiagram illustrating an example of a semiconductor system according tothe exemplary embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the semiconductor system has a plurality of(e.g., three) semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C.

The semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C perform apredetermined semiconductor processing on a processing target object,and manufacture, for example, a liquid crystal panel, an organicelectroluminescence display, and a plasma display panel. The processingtarget object is, for example, a semiconductor wafer or a glasssubstrate. The semiconductor processing may include at least aprocessing related to a semiconductor. As the processing related to asemiconductor, for example, a film formation processing, an etchingprocessing, or a thermal oxidation processing may be mentioned. Thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C may be a batchtype apparatus or a single sheet type apparatus.

The semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 1A, 1B, and 1C are providedwith apparatus controllers 10A, 10B, and 10C that control operations ofrespective components of the apparatuses, respectively. The apparatuscontrollers 10A, 10B, and 10C are connected to the same communicationnetwork. The apparatus controllers 10A, 10B, and 10C are configured toshare information on the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 1A, 1B,and 1C via a communication network by directly communicating with eachother. For example, the apparatus controller 10A and the apparatuscontroller 10B share information on the semiconductor manufacturingapparatuses 1A and 1B by bidirectionally communicating the informationtherebetween. Further, for example, the apparatus controller 10A and theapparatus controller 10C shares information on the semiconductormanufacturing apparatuses 1A and 1C by bidirectionally communicating theinformation therebetween. Meanwhile, the communication network may be,for example, a network of a manufacturing execution system (MES) thatmanages manufacturing steps of the entire factory in which thesemiconductor system is installed. Further, the communication networkmay be, for example, the Internet, an intranet, or a public telephoneline network.

The apparatus controllers 10A, 10B, and 10C may have the sameconfiguration or may have different configurations. However, adescription will be made of a case where the apparatus controllers 10A,10B, and 10C have the same configuration by way of an example.Hereinafter, among the apparatus controllers 10A, 10B, and 10C havingthe same configuration, the apparatus controller 10A will be described,and a description of the apparatus controllers 10B and 10C will beomitted.

(Apparatus Controller)

An example of the hardware configuration of the apparatus controller 10Awill be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplaryhardware configuration of the apparatus controller 10A.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the apparatus controller 10A includes acentral processing unit (CPU) 11, a read only memory (ROM) 12, a randomaccess memory (RAM) 13, a hard disk drive (HDD) 14, a connectioninterface (I/F) 15, and a communication I/F 16 which are connected witheach other via a bus 17.

The CPU 11 controls the overall operation of the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 11A by executing a program stored in, forexample, the ROM 12 or the HDD 14 using the RAM 13 as a work area. Eachcomponent of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A is connectedto the connection I/F 15. The communication I/F 16 is an interface forcommunicating with other apparatus controllers 10B and 10C by wired orwireless communication.

In the apparatus controller 10A, a program for causing a processingtarget object to perform a predetermined semiconductor processing isinstalled in advance. Then, process managers perform an operation ofcausing the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A having a programinstalled therein to perform various substrate processings via theapparatus controller 10A.

An example of a functional configuration of the apparatus controller 10Awill be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the functionalconfiguration of the apparatus controller 10A. The function of theapparatus controller 10A to be described below is implemented byexecuting a predetermined program in the above-described CPU 11. Theprogram may be acquired via a recording medium, may be acquired via acommunication network, or may be incorporated into the ROM 12.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the apparatus controller 10A includes anacquisition unit 101, a storage unit 102, a communication unit 103, ananalysis unit 104, an information generation unit 105, a display unit106, an input reception unit 107, and a cluster management unit 108.

The acquisition unit 101 has a function of acquiring information on thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A. Information on thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A includes, for example,parameters, history data, and installation environment data.

The parameters are set values or adjustment values that are used whencontrolling the operations of respective components of the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus, and may include, for example, the zero pointsof a heater, a vacuum gauge, and a flow rate controller. By comparingthe parameters in a plurality of semiconductor manufacturingapparatuses, the differences between, for example, the apparatusconfigurations may be grasped.

The history data is a state log of each component of the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus when the semiconductor manufacturing apparatusis caused to execute a predetermined operation, and may include, forexample, the opening degree of an automatic pressure control (APC) valveand the value measured by, for example, a temperature sensor, a pressuresensor, or a flow rate sensor. Further, the history data may be arepresentative value obtained by performing a predetermined calculationon the opening degree of the APC valve or the value measured by asensor, for example, an average value or a standard deviation. Thepredetermined operation is determined in advance in accordance with, forexample, the type of the history data. By comparing the history data ina plurality of semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses, the differences,for example, in the condition of or in the accumulated substrateprocessing situation of the respective semiconductor manufacturingapparatuses may be determined.

The installation environment data is a value that varies depending onthe environment in which the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus isinstalled, and may include, for example, values of exhaust conductance,cooling water supply flow rate, and gas supply pressure. By comparingthe installation environment data of a plurality of semiconductormanufacturing apparatuses under the same condition, for example, adifference in the environments where the respective semiconductormanufacturing apparatuses are installed may be understood.

The storage unit 102 has a function of storing information on thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A acquired by the acquisitionunit 101. Further, the storage unit 102 has a function of storing acluster ID that specifies the cluster to which the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1A belongs. The cluster ID may be, for example,an IP address or a communication port. In the present specification, theterm “cluster” means a system in which a plurality of semiconductormanufacturing apparatuses are grouped.

The communication unit 103 has a function of sending the information onthe semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A and the cluster ID storedin the storage unit 102 to other apparatus controllers, for example, theapparatus controllers 10B and 10C. Further, the communication unit 103has a function of receiving the information on the semiconductormanufacturing apparatuses 1B and 1C and the cluster ID received fromother apparatus controllers, for example, the apparatus controllers 10Band 10C. Meanwhile, the information on the semiconductor manufacturingapparatuses 1B and 1C and the cluster ID received by the communicationunit 103 may be stored in the storage unit 102.

The analysis unit 104 has a function of analyzing the state of thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A based on the information on theother semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 1B and 1C received by thecommunication unit 103 and the information on the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1A stored in the storage unit 102. For example,the analysis unit 104 compares the information on the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1A with the information on the othersemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B received by the communicationunit 103 to determine whether the state of the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1A is identical to the state of thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B. Specifically, for example,when the difference between the history data of the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1A and the history data of the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1B when the semiconductor manufacturingapparatus 1A and the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B are causedto execute the same operation is included in a predetermined range, itis determined that the states of both are the same. When the differencebetween the history data of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1Aand the history data of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1Bwhen the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A and the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1B are caused to execute the same operation isnot included in the predetermined range, it is determined that thestates of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A and thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B are different from each other.

The information generation unit 105 has a function of generatinginformation that visualizes the state of the semiconductor manufacturingapparatus 1A based on the analysis results of the analysis unit 104. Forexample, when it is determined by the analysis unit 104 that the stateof the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A is identical to thestate of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B, the informationgeneration unit 105 generates information representing that the statesof the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A and the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1B are identical to each other. Further, forexample, when it is determined by the analysis unit 104 that the stateof the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A is different from thestate of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B, the informationgeneration unit 105 generates information representing that the state ofthe semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A and the state of thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B are different from each other.In addition, for example, when it is determined by the analysis unit 104that the state of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A isdifferent from the state of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus1B, the information generation unit 105 generates a correction value tomatch the characteristic of the semiconductor device manufactured by thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A with the characteristic of thesemiconductor device manufactured by the semiconductor manufacturingapparatus 1B.

The display unit 106 has a function of displaying the informationgenerated by the information generation unit 105.

The input reception unit 107 has a function of receiving an operationinput of process managers.

The cluster management unit 108 has a function of determining whetherone semiconductor manufacturing apparatus belongs to the same cluster asother semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses. For example, when it isdetermined whether the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A and thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B belong to the same cluster, thecluster ID stored in the storage unit 102 of the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1A is compared with the cluster ID stored in thestorage unit of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B. When thecluster ID of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A matches thecluster ID of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B, it isdetermined that the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A and thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B belong to the same cluster.Meanwhile, for example, when the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus1A is newly added to a specific cluster, the process managers input thenetwork ID of the device which already belongs to the cluster to bejoined so that the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A may join anew cluster.

(Operation)

An example of a processing by the semiconductor system according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.Hereinafter, a description will be made of a case where the state of thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A is matched with the state ofthe semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B with reference to the stateof the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B, by way of an example.Meanwhile, the processing by the semiconductor system may be performedas long as information on the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus isdirectly communicated and shared among a plurality of semiconductormanufacturing apparatuses, but the processing is not limited to matchingthe state of one semiconductor manufacturing apparatus with the statesof the other semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses. For example, onesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus may refer to another semiconductormanufacturing apparatus, or information on one semiconductormanufacturing apparatus may be copied to another semiconductormanufacturing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary processing by thesemiconductor system according to the exemplary embodiment.

When an operation input is made by the process managers to match thestate of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A with the state ofthe semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B by referring to the stateof the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B, the acquisition unit101 acquires information on the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A(step S1).

Next, the acquisition unit 101 stores the acquired information on thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A in the storage unit 102 (stepS2).

Next, the communication unit 103 receives information on thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B (step S3).

Next, based on the information on the semiconductor manufacturingapparatus 1A stored in the storage unit 102 and the information on thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B received by the communicationunit 103, the analysis unit 104 determines whether the state of thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A is identical to the state ofthe semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B (step S4).

In step S4, when the analysis unit 104 determines that the state of thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A is identical to the state ofthe semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B, the information generationunit 105 generates information representing that the states of thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A and the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1B are identical to each other (step S5).

In step S4, when the analysis unit 104 determines that the state of thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A is different from the state ofthe semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B, the information generationunit 105 generates information representing that the states of thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A and the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1B are different from each other (step S6).Further, the information generation unit 105 generates a correctionvalue to match the characteristic of a semiconductor device manufacturedby the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A with the characteristicof a semiconductor device manufactured by the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1B.

Next, the display unit 106 displays the information generated by theinformation generation unit 105 (step S8) and ends the processing. Thatis, in step S4, when the analysis unit 104 determines that the state ofthe semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A is identical to the stateof the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B, the display unit 106displays first information generated by the information generation unit105. In step S4, when the analysis unit 104 determines that the state ofthe semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A is different from the stateof the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B, the display unit 106displays second information and the correction value generated by theinformation generation unit 105.

An example of the processing by the semiconductor system according tothe exemplary embodiment has been described above, but the processing bythe semiconductor system may be changed as follows.

For example, when the analysis unit 104 determines that the state of thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A is different from the state ofthe semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B, the step of generating thecorrection value by the information generation unit 105 (step S7) may beomitted. In this case, in step S8, the display unit 106 displays onlythe second information generated by the information generation unit 105.

Further, for example, a step of storing the first information, thesecond information, and the correction value generated by theinformation generation unit 105 in the storage unit 102 may be included.

In addition, for example, when an operation input is made by the processmanagers to match the state of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus1A with the state of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B byreferring to the state of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B,a step of determining by the cluster management unit 108 whether thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B belongs to the same cluster asthe semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A may be included prior tostep S1. In this case, when the cluster management unit 108 determinesthat the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B belongs to the samecluster as the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A, step S1 isperformed.

Next, a specific example of the processing by the semiconductor systemwill be described. In the following description, an example will bedescribed in which a correction value is calculated by comparing anexhaust profile of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A with anexhaust profile of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B. Theexhaust profile is an example of information on the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus.

First, the acquisition unit 101 acquires the exhaust profile of thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A (step S1). The exhaust profileof the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A is a pressure changewhen the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A is operated under aplurality of previously prepared conditions. FIG. 5 is a diagramillustrating an exemplary exhaust profile of the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1A. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the exhaustprofile of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A may be apressure change in a processing vessel when changing the opening degreeof the APC valve and the supply flow rate of an N₂ gas, respectively.Meanwhile, in FIG. 5, the unit for the opening degree of the APC valveis a percentage (%), the unit for the supply flow rate of the N₂ gas isliter (L), and the unit for the pressure is pascal (Pa). In an exemplaryembodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 5, when the opening degree of the APCvalve is 3.0% and the supply flow rate of the N₂ gas is y (L), thepressure in the processing vessel is 3.8 Pa. Further, when the openingdegree of the APC valve is 4.0% and the supply flow rate of the N₂ gasis y (L), the pressure in the processing vessel is 3.5 Pa.

Next, the acquisition unit 101 stores the acquired information in thestorage unit 102 (step S2).

Next, the communication unit 103 acquires the exhaust profile of thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B stored in the storage unit ofthe apparatus controller 10B of the semiconductor manufacturingapparatus 1B (step S3). The exhaust profile of the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1B is a pressure change when the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1B is operated under a plurality of previouslyprepared conditions in the same manner as in the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1A. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating anexemplary exhaust profile of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus1B. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the exhaust profile of the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1B may be a pressure change in a processingvessel when changing the opening degree of the APC valve and the supplyflow rate of an N₂ gas, respectively. Meanwhile, in FIG. 6, the unit forthe opening degree of the APC valve is a percentage (%), the unit forthe supply flow rate of the N₂ gas is liter (L), and the unit for thepressure is pascal (Pa). In an exemplary embodiment, as illustrated inFIG. 6, when the opening degree of the APC valve is 3.0% and the supplyflow rate of the N₂ gas is y (L), the pressure in the processing vesselis 4.1 Pa. Further, when the opening degree of the APC valve is 4.0% andthe supply flow rate of the N₂ gas is y (L), the pressure in theprocessing vessel is 3.7 Pa.

Next, based on the exhaust profile of the semiconductor manufacturingapparatus 1A stored in the storage unit 102 and the exhaust profile ofthe semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B received by thecommunication unit 103, the analysis unit 104 determines whether thestate of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A is identical tothe state of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B (step S4). Adetermination on whether the state of the semiconductor manufacturingapparatus 1A is identical to the state of the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1B may be made, for example, based on whetherthe difference between the exhaust profile of the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1A and the exhaust profile of the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1B is included in a predetermined range. In theexemplary embodiment, for example, when the difference between theexhaust profile of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A and theexhaust profile of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B is equalto or smaller than 0.1 Pa, it is determined that the state of thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A is identical to the state ofthe semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B. When the differencebetween the exhaust profile of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus1A and the exhaust profile of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus1B is larger than 0.1 Pa, it may be determined that the state of thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A is different from the state ofthe semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B. In the exemplaryembodiment, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, since the differencebetween the exhaust profile of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus1A and the exhaust profile of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus1B at the same opening degree of the APC valve is larger than 0.1 Pa, itis determined that the state of the semiconductor manufacturingapparatus 1A is different from the state of the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1B.

Next, the information generation unit 105 generates information (secondinformation) representing that the state of the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1A is different from the state of thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B (step S6). Further, theinformation generation unit 105 generates a correction value to matchthe characteristic of a semiconductor device manufactured by thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A with the characteristic of asemiconductor device manufactured by the semiconductor manufacturingapparatus 1B (step S7). FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a relationshipbetween the exhaust profile of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus1A and the exhaust profile of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus1B. In FIG. 7, the horizontal axis represents the opening degree % ofthe APC valve and the vertical axis represents the pressure Pa in theprocessing vessel of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses 1A and1B. As illustrated in FIG. 7, for example, the information generationunit 105 calculates the opening degree of the APC valve of thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B, which has the same pressure asthe pressure in the processing vessel when the opening degree of the APCvalve of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A is 4.0 Pa.Further, the information generation unit 105 calculates the differencebetween the opening degree of the APC valve of the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1A and the opening degree of the APC valve ofthe semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B so as to generate thedifference as a correction value. In FIG. 7, the correction value isX1%. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary correction valuetable. As illustrated in FIG. 8, since the correction value of theopening degree of the APC valve depends on a relationship among threevariables, i.e., the pressure, the supply flow rate of the N₂ gas, andthe opening degree of the APC valve, the correction may be made whenexecuting the processing by calculating the correction value per supplyflow rate of the N₂ gas.

Next, the display unit 106 displays the second information and thecorrection value generated by the information generation unit 105 (stepS8) and ends the processing.

Meanwhile, in the above-described exemplary embodiment, thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B is an example of a firstsemiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1A is an example of a second semiconductormanufacturing apparatus.

As described above, in the semiconductor system of the exemplaryembodiment, when the apparatus controller 10A receives an operationinput by the process managers, the apparatus controller 10A compares theexhaust profile of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A with theexhaust profile of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B. Theapparatus controller 10A also determines whether the state of thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A is identical to the state ofthe semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B. For this reason, engineersskilled in the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus do not need toconfirm, for example, the state of each semiconductor manufacturingapparatus, and process managers may easily determine whether it isrequired to adjust the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A.

Further, in the semiconductor system of the exemplary embodiment, basedon the exhaust profile of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1Aand the exhaust profile of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B,the apparatus controller 10A calculates a correction value so that thestate of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A is equal to thestate of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1B. For this reason,even when the exhaust profile of the semiconductor manufacturingapparatus 1A is different from the exhaust profile of the semiconductormanufacturing apparatus 1B, the process managers may easily adjust thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatus 1A. As a result, the occurrence ofvariations in the quality of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatusesmay be suppressed even when manufacturing the semiconductor device usinga plurality of semiconductor manufacturing apparatuses.

Further, in the semiconductor system of the exemplary embodiment, theprocess managers may easily determine whether it required to adjust thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatuses and then easily adjust thesemiconductor manufacturing apparatuses. This may shorten the timerequired to carry apparatuses into a semiconductor factory and operatethe apparatuses, and may facilitate maintenance and management of theapparatuses.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various embodiments ofthe present disclosure have been described herein for purposes ofillustration, and that various modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.Accordingly, the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intendedto be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor system comprising: a firstsemiconductor manufacturing apparatus and a second semiconductormanufacturing apparatus that share information on a semiconductormanufacturing apparatus by directly communicating the informationtherebetween, wherein the first semiconductor manufacturing apparatusincludes: a first acquisition unit configured to acquire firstinformation on the first semiconductor manufacturing apparatus; a firststorage unit configured to store the first information acquired by thefirst acquisition unit; and a first communication unit configured tosend the first information stored in the first storage unit to thesecond semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and the secondsemiconductor manufacturing apparatus includes: a second acquisitionunit configured to acquire second information on the secondsemiconductor manufacturing apparatus; a second storage unit configuredto store the second information acquired by the second acquisition unit;a second communication unit configured to receive the first informationsent from the first semiconductor manufacturing apparatus; an analysisunit configured to analyze a state of the second semiconductormanufacturing apparatus based on the first information received by thesecond communication unit and the second information stored in thesecond storage unit; an information generation unit configured togenerate information that visualizes an analysis result of the analysisunit; and a display unit configured to display information generated bythe information generation unit.
 2. The semiconductor system of claim 1,wherein the analysis unit compares the second information acquired bythe second acquisition unit with the first information received by thesecond communication unit to determine whether the state of the secondsemiconductor manufacturing apparatus is identical to a state of thefirst semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.
 3. The semiconductor systemof claim 1, wherein, when a difference between the first information andthe second information when the first semiconductor manufacturingapparatus and the second semiconductor manufacturing apparatus arecaused to perform a same operation is included in a predetermined range,the analysis unit determines that the state of the second semiconductormanufacturing apparatus is identical to the state of the firstsemiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and when the difference betweenthe first information and the second information when the firstsemiconductor manufacturing apparatus and the second semiconductormanufacturing apparatus are caused to perform the same operation is notincluded in the predetermined range, the analysis unit determines thatthe state of the second semiconductor manufacturing apparatus isdifferent from the state of the first semiconductor manufacturingapparatus.
 4. The semiconductor system of claim 2, wherein, when theanalysis unit determines that the state of the second semiconductormanufacturing apparatus is different from the state of the firstsemiconductor manufacturing apparatus, the information generation unitgenerates a correction value for matching a characteristic of asemiconductor device manufactured by the second semiconductormanufacturing apparatus with a characteristic of a semiconductor devicemanufactured by the first semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.
 5. Thesemiconductor system of claim 1, wherein the first information and thesecond information are set values to be used when controlling operationsof respective units of the first semiconductor manufacturing apparatusand the second semiconductor manufacturing apparatus.
 6. Thesemiconductor system of claim 1, wherein the first information and thesecond information are state logs of respective units of the firstsemiconductor manufacturing apparatus and the second semiconductormanufacturing apparatus when a predetermined operation is executed inthe first semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and the secondsemiconductor manufacturing apparatus.
 7. The semiconductor system ofclaim 1, wherein the first information and the second information arevalues that vary depending on an environment in which each of the firstsemiconductor manufacturing apparatus and the second semiconductormanufacturing apparatus is installed.